Re: documentation inconsistent re: alignment

Chapman Flack <chap(at)anastigmatix(dot)net> writes:
> The documentation for CREATE TYPE has this to say about alignment:

> "The alignment parameter specifies the storage alignment required for the
> data type. The allowed values equate to alignment on 1, 2, 4, or 8 byte
> boundaries."

> ... while the documentation for pg_type has:

> "c = char alignment, i.e., no alignment needed.
> s = short alignment (2 bytes on most machines).
> i = int alignment (4 bytes on most machines).
> d = double alignment (8 bytes on many machines, but by no means all)."

> so, in 2019, are the alignments weaselly and variable, or are they 1,2,4,8?

Probably the statement in CREATE TYPE is too strong. There are, I
believe, still machines in the buildfarm where maxalign is just 4.

regards, tom lane